The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-28

forfeits its title to continued adhesion,
in so far as it submits TO the sway of I'M
principled men. - His summing up of
the work to which he would have free
partisans" devote themselves is also
strong, and his disapproval of those who
neglect their duty to their country be-
cause they find no party good enough
for our faith, is decided as their own.
The authors conception of the duty de-
vOlving upon a partisan press, and his
plea for the education of that public
opinion on which the stability of our
institutions and the welfare of our
country depends, is noble in sentiment
and faithful to his lofty ideal
But to a work so rich in promise and
beautiful in sentiment and language,
there is no fitting conclusion. The So
called essay is a defense of the civil ser
vice reform law as at present enforced,
and its highest value lies in the fact that
it is a clear and logical treatment of a
subject which has heretofore evaded
careful handling because it could not
be found In a state sufficiently material
for analy sis. As our author says, the
subject is an important one; SO impor-
tant that it should not be held estab-
lished, simply because its advocates set
it up on a Iuin. For no thinking man in
all the country can now ask that the
''spoils system" in its native ugliness,
be again impCse upon the people. Mr..
Bishop wastes valuable time and muscle
on a dead body when he strikes the old
institution, and no good man would OBJ
ject to his reform" if this alone could
replace the other.
The "merit system" is now the only
one possible in the present enlightened
state of public opinion. The only issue
now of int rest Is the old one, so ener-
getically prOpOunded by Carlyle: How
shall We find our best man: Mr.. Bishop
Is unwilling to agree with "a distin-
guished Senator" that good officer is
necessarily a friend to the party leader;
we agree with MIR. Bishop. Dir. Bish, p
thinks a good clerk or cOpyist is not nee
essarily an influential partisan, and we
agree with him heartily ana sincerely.
But 1.-THE distinguished Senator" be-
lieves that Mr.. Bishop will lot
be certain of finding a good copy
list or clerk by getting uD a class
in algebra or history, and here we
are as far apart from Mr.. Bishop as the
poles. Why should an Inspector in the
postal service be asked where was Gen.
Jackson al the battle Of New Orleans
Why should the copyist be asked to re
peat propositions in Euclid: When we
employ a printer we do not ar k him if he
was ever in love when a contractor
wants a ditch opened he does not organ
ize spelling class and and pay extra
wages TO the man who stands at the
head Ii this is busine So admins
tratiOn" why should pretence be made
of keeping school when the real work is
outside! All the q" ridicule" and mar
-tyrdOm" of which Mr.. Bishop complains
is the punishment inflicted by practical
people on those who are Pharisees enough
to give us words for deeds-who attempt
to reform our traditions on the strength
of the long faces and purple borders
which they would have us take for wis
dom and piety.
We repeat-we all insist on the "merit
system" hut We cannot believe that
every pedant who stands at the head of
his class in geography or history is a
statesman. We do not even believe that
the most learned man in the country
would necessarily make the best Presi-
dent or postmaster or clerk or copyist or
even chimney sweep. If Mr.. Bishop or
George William Curtis would tell us how
to know merit" when we see it-or give
us some infallIble recipe for its manu-
facture, then indeed the service con-
ferIsd on mankind would be incalcuIa-
BILE, and II need not even be a civil re
form. But while Mr.. Bishops essay is
elegant IN style, beautiful in diction and
concise in statement, it fails in its con-
clusion 10 which we had hurried in anx-
ious hope. Our author has rendered
most valuable support to the dissemina-
ton of the belief that promotion and EN-
ployment i'll the public service shonid be
the reward of merit-but when he lends
himself to the advocacy of civil service
reform as at present enforced, we are
grieved to see conscientious effort wasted
and pure purpose tend TO naught. Yet
all of us owe him many thanks for q
work which is so beautiful in conception
and true to an ideal which should be set
before the eye of every voter and com
mended TO his loyal consideration.
On the Back Track
Savannah Morning News.
In M source of Satisfaction TO